Center of the American Experiment

While CAE claims to be non-partisan, members of its staff and board have affiliations with the Republican Party. CAE publishes Thinking Minnesota, a free quarterly magazine. ^{3 1}

Activities

The Center of the American Experiment is a public policy think tank that supports policies promoting free enterprise, limited government, and individual liberty in Minnesota. CAE publishes research and proposes solutions on policy related to Minnesota’s economy, health care, education, state and local governance, and employee freedom. ¹

Mitch Pearlstein founded the CEA in 1990 and was the first president. ⁴ Pearlstein was formerly director of outreach for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement at the Department of Education, a special assistant for policy and communications to former Minnesota Governor Al Quie (R), and a research fellow at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. ⁵ Attorney and conservative journalist John Hinderaker became the CAE president in 2016 upon Pearlstein’s retirement from the role. ⁶

CAE advocates for the legalization of nuclear power plants in Minnesota, claiming that wind and solar power are not efficient ways to “generate less carbon dioxide free energy.” CAE claims that the new nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates will decarbonize the electricity sector quicker than Minnesota’s wind turbines. ⁷

After test results showed that more than half of Minnesota public school students were not meeting basic proficiency standards in reading and math, the CAE launched $7K for Kids, which is a campaign that advocates for a statewide $7,000 Education Savings Account to give Minnesota students. ⁸

CAE advocates for health-care policy that would establish individually owned health insurance plans. CAE supports efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, including a 2017 executive order signed by President Donald Trump, which directed federal agencies to expand access to association health plans, ease restrictions on short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI), and allow health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) to pay for individual-market premiums pre-tax. ⁹

Investigative Reporting

Center of the American Experiment also does investigative reporting that focuses on waste, abuse of power, and ineptitude in Minnesota’s state and local governments, schools, and unions.  ¹⁰

The Center of the American Experiment first revealed in 2024 that the Minnesota Department of Education’s K-12 social studies standards would teach students about Palestinians’ fight for “liberation” against the oppressive “colonizer” state of Israel. The organization obtained documents that showed students would be instructed to “describe how individuals and communities have fought” for “liberation against systemic and coordinated exercises of power.” ¹¹

The CAE first reported Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) met with the Feeding Our Future charity in December 2021. The charity was later the subject of a major fraud probe, with numerous people related to the charity being convicted of financial crimes. ^{12 13}

Funding

The Center of the American Experiment is funded by donations from individuals, businesses, and foundations. Notable donations have come from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, ¹⁴ the Minneapolis Foundation, ¹⁵ and the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund. ¹⁶

In 2025, the National Philanthropic Trust gave $453,350 to the Center of the American Experiment in 2025; the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund gave $306,350 to CAE; and DAFgiving360 gave $229,190 to CAE. ¹⁷

Staff

John Hinderaker is as of 2026 president of the Center of the American Experiment and formerly was its board chair (1998-2000). Hinderaker is a former lawyer and the founder of the conservative blog Power Line. ¹⁸

Katherine Kersten is a senior policy fellow at CAE and formerly was its board chair (1996-1998). Kersten is a former columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. ¹⁹

Catrin Wigfall is a policy fellow at CAE. Wigfall formerly participated in the Koch Fellow Program at the Charles Koch Institute, formerly was a journalism fellow at the California Policy Center, and formerly taught with Teach for America. ²⁰

Martha Njolomole is an economist at CAE and formerly worked as a research assistant at the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy. ²¹

Charlie Nickoloff is finance director and sits on the board of CAE. Nickoloff formerly served as a vice president of Minnesota Solar Connection. ²²

As of 2026, Jenna Stocker was editor and publisher of Thinking Minnesota, the CAE’s quarterly magazine. Stocker is a former Marine Corps officer, and was previously a researcher specializing in Islamism and military weapons systems at the Center for Security Policy in Washington, D.C. ²³

Board of Directors

Ron Eibensteiner was the Center of the American Experiment board chairman as of July 2026. He was formerly the chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party. ²⁴

As of 2026, John Hinderaker, the CAE president, was also a board member. ²⁵

As of 2026, Scott Rile was the treasurer of the board for the CAE. ²⁵ At that time, he was a principal at Bernstein Private Wealth Management. ²⁶

As of 2026, Molly Corrigan Cronin was the vice chair as of July 2026.  ²⁵ She was co-chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota’s Elephant Club fundraising committee. ²⁷ Cronin contributed nearly $13,000 to Republican campaigns between 2012 and 2020. ²⁸